Teatro y vida cotidiana

El teatro es un arte que, a diferencia de otras manifestaciones, contiene en sí una paradoja: el actor, en una representación, es al mismo tiempo creador y creación, es artista y obra de arte. De alguna manera, su vida se expone en el escenario, pero de un modo distinto a cómo aparece fuera de él. El teatro y la vida mantienen una relación que se expresa en el cuerpo del actor y descifra su ser dentro y fuera del escenario; pensarla supondría organizar una propuesta sobre un modo de hacer el teatro y de vivir la vida. Explicar aquello de que la vida es un teatro al tiempo de que el teatro es un arte vivo, transitar por la relación teatro-vida dentro del ámbito de la cultura humana, es una exploración semiótica de la relación verdad-mentira, o mejor, de la relación revelación-ocultamiento. El presente texto intenta responder a la pregunta: ¿Cuál es el lenguaje específico del teatro como arte de representación y como hecho de comunicación, y cómo se relaciona éste ámbito de la vida cotidiana? El teatro, además de un arte, es un hecho de represtación que crea signos, es un espacio definido a través de un actor, que tienen existencia y significación por sí mismos dentro de una realidad, y que están referidos a otra realidad. De ahí que, señala el autor, el teatro es también un hecho de comunicación que objetiva la relación entre el emisor y el receptor mediante un lenguaje que le es particular.

Acción de protección: garantía jurisdiccional directa y no residual. ¿La ordinarización de la acción de protección?

La Constitución de la República vigente trae consigo una serie de modificaciones sustanciales en relación a la Constitución Política de 1998. Una de ellas, acorde con el nuevo modelo de Estado que rige al Ecuador, el Estado constitucional de derechos, es la implementación de la nueva acción de protección, garantía jurisdiccional de derechos constitucionales sustituta de la antigua acción de amparo constitucional. En efecto, la acción de protección, a diferencia de la acción de amparo, aparece como un proceso de conocimiento, declarativo, ampliamente reparatorio y no residual. Por tratarse de una garantía novedosa en el ámbito jurídico ecuatoriano, la presente tesis en su parte inicial procura poner de manifiesto las diferencias y semejanzas entre la antigua acción de amparo constitucional y la nueva acción de protección, con el fin de aportar al ejercicio y consolidación de esta nueva garantía jurisdiccional. Posteriormente, una vez constatadas dichas diferencias, se tendrá por justificada la necesidad de una regulación o delimitación que salvaguarde a ésta nueva garantía de aquellos vicios que corrompieron y desnaturalizaron a la acción de amparo en el pasado. Para ello, en base a un estudio de jurisdicciones constitucionales comparadas, se sugiere y analiza la implementación de una serie de filtros de forma y de fondo, tendientes a evitar un proceso de ordinarización de la acción de protección, y que guarden armonía y compatibilidad con el paradigma del Estado constitucional. Finalmente, se destaca el rol fundamental que debe desempeñar el legislador dentro del proceso de elaboración de la nueva Ley de Garantías y Control Constitucional. Su deber se reduce a utilizar técnicas legislativas proporcionales y respetuosas con los preceptos constitucionales que rigen a la acción de protección. Caso contrario, el producto de su actividad se tornaría inconstitucional y atentatorio a la voluntad del constituyente, que no fue otra que fortalecer al garantismo y no limitarlo.

Procesos: revista ecuatoriana de historia. 34 (SOLO LIBROS/Reseñas)

Presenta las reseñas de los libros: Antonio Escobar Ohmstede, Romana Falcón Vega y Raymond Buve, coords., La arquitectura histórica del poder. Naciones, nacionalismo y estados en América Latina. Siglos XVIII , XIX y XX, México, el Colegio de México y Centro de Estudios y documentación Latinoamericano, 2010, 335 pp . -- Matthew Brown, Aventureros, mercenarios y legiones extranjeras en la independencia de la Gran Colombia, Medellín, Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia/La Carreta, 2010, 277 pp. -- Roger Paul Davis, El Ecuador durante la Gran Colombia (1820-1830). Regionalismo, localismo y legitimidad en el nacimiento de una república andina, traducción de Andrés Landázuri, Biblioteca del Bicentenario No. 25, Quito, Banco Central del Ecuador (Ministerio de Cultura), 2011, 332 pp.

Cannabidiol displays antiepileptiform and antiseizure properties in vitro and in vivo

Plant-derived cannabinoids (phytocannabinoids) are compounds with emerging therapeutic potential. Early studies suggested that cannabidiol (CBD) has anticonvulsant properties in animal models and reduced seizure frequency in limited human trials. Here, we examine the anti-epileptiform and anti-seizure potential of CBD using in vitro electrophysiology and an in vivo animal seizure model, respectively. CBD (0.01-100 muM) effects were assessed in vitro using the Mg(2+)-free and 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) models of status epilepticus-like epileptiform activity in hippocampal brain slices via multi-electrode array (MEA) recordings. In the Mg(2+)-free model, CBD decreased epileptiform local field potential (LFP) burst amplitude (in CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) regions) and burst duration (in all regions) and increased burst frequency (in all regions). In the 4-AP model, CBD decreased LFP burst amplitude (in CA1, only at 100 muM CBD), burst duration (in CA3 and DG), and burst frequency (in all regions). CBD (1, 10 and 100 mg/kg) effects were also examined in vivo using the pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) model of generalised seizures. CBD (100 mg/kg) exerted clear anticonvulsant effects with significant decreases in incidence of severe seizures and mortality in comparison to vehicle-treated animals. Finally, CBD acted with only low affinity at cannabinoid CB(1) receptors and displayed no agonist activity in [(35)S]GTPgammaS assays in cortical membranes. These findings suggest that CBD acts to inhibit epileptiform activity in vitro and seizure severity in vivo. Thus, we demonstrate the potential of CBD as a novel anti-epileptic drug (AED) in the unmet clinical need associated with generalised seizures.

Uncertainties in annual riverine phosphorus load estimation: Impact of load estimation methodology, sampling frequency, baseflow index and catchment population density

Models developed to identify the rates and origins of nutrient export from land to stream require an accurate assessment of the nutrient load present in the water body in order to calibrate model parameters and structure. These data are rarely available at a representative scale and in an appropriate chemical form except in research catchments. Observational errors associated with nutrient load estimates based on these data lead to a high degree of uncertainty in modelling and nutrient budgeting studies. Here, daily paired instantaneous P and flow data for 17 UK research catchments covering a total of 39 water years (WY) have been used to explore the nature and extent of the observational error associated with nutrient flux estimates based on partial fractions and infrequent sampling. The daily records were artificially decimated to create 7 stratified sampling records, 7 weekly records, and 30 monthly records from each WY and catchment. These were used to evaluate the impact of sampling frequency on load estimate uncertainty. The analysis underlines the high uncertainty of load estimates based on monthly data and individual P fractions rather than total P. Catchments with a high baseflow index and/or low population density were found to return a lower RMSE on load estimates when sampled infrequently than those with a tow baseflow index and high population density. Catchment size was not shown to be important, though a limitation of this study is that daily records may fail to capture the full range of P export behaviour in smaller catchments with flashy hydrographs, leading to an underestimate of uncertainty in Load estimates for such catchments. Further analysis of sub-daily records is needed to investigate this fully. Here, recommendations are given on load estimation methodologies for different catchment types sampled at different frequencies, and the ways in which this analysis can be used to identify observational error and uncertainty for model calibration and nutrient budgeting studies. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

What are the costs of procurement and who bears them?

The costs of procurement are transaction costs which are separate from the direct costs of a project. In this paper discussion is concentrated on costs of tendering. Types of cost, including money costs and opportunity costs, short-term and long-term costs, private and social costs are defined and examined in relation to various types of product and methods of procurement. The costs of the contractor and of the client are considered and tentative conclusions drawn as to who bears these costs in the short-run and in the long run. They may fall on the parties to the process for the particular project, on other contractors and clients or on society as a whole.

The impact of contract duration on the cost of cash retention

Cash retention is a common means of protecting an employer from a contractor's insolvency as well as ensuring that contractors finish the work that they start. Similarly, contractors withhold part of payments due to their sub-contractors. Larger contracts tend to be subjected to smaller rates of retention. By calculating the cost of retention as an amount per year of a contract, it is shown that retention is far more expensive for firms whose work consists of short contracts. The extra cost is multiplied when the final payment is delayed, as it often is for those whose work takes place at the beginning of a project. This may explain why it is that main contractors are a lot less interested than sub-contractors in alternatives to cash retention, such as retention bonds

The impact of market and supply configurations on the costs of tendering in the construction industry

The cost of tendering in the construction industry is widely suspected to be excessive, but there is little robust empirical evidence to demonstrate this. It also seems that innovative working practices may reduce the costs of undertaking construction projects and the consequent improvement in relationships should increase overall value for money. The aim of this proposed research project is to develop mechanisms for measuring the true costs of tendering based upon extensive in-house data collection undertaken in a range of different construction firms. The output from this research will enable all participants in the construction process to make better decisions about how to select members of the team and identify the price and scope of their obligations.

Cash flow management in construction firms

The level of insolvencies in the construction industry is high, when compared to other industry sectors. Given the management expertise and experience that is available to the construction industry, it seems strange that, according to the literature, the major causes of failure are lack of financial control and poor management. This indicates that with a good cash flow management, companies could be kept operating and financially healthy. It is possible to prevent failure. Although there are financial models that can be used to predict failure, they are based on company accounts, which have been shown to be an unreliable source of data. There are models available for cash flow management and forecasting and these could be used as a starting point for managers in rethinking their cash flow management practices. The research reported here has reached the stage of formulating researchable questions for an in-depth study including issues such as how contractors manage their cash flow, how payment practices can be managed without damaging others in the supply chain and the relationships between companies’ financial structures and the payment regimes to which they are subjected.

Soft topographic map for clustering and classification of bacteria

In this work a new method for clustering and building a topographic representation of a bacteria taxonomy is presented. The method is based on the analysis of stable parts of the genome, the so-called “housekeeping genes”. The proposed method generates topographic maps of the bacteria taxonomy, where relations among different type strains can be visually inspected and verified. Two well known DNA alignement algorithms are applied to the genomic sequences. Topographic maps are optimized to represent the similarity among the sequences according to their evolutionary distances. The experimental analysis is carried out on 147 type strains of the Gammaprotebacteria class by means of the 16S rRNA housekeeping gene. Complete sequences of the gene have been retrieved from the NCBI public database. In the experimental tests the maps show clusters of homologous type strains and present some singular cases potentially due to incorrect classification or erroneous annotations in the database.

Amount of substance and the proposed redefinition of the mole

There has been considerable discussion about the merits of redefining four of the base units of the SI, including the mole. In this paper, the options for implementing a new definition for the mole based on a fixed value for the Avogadro constant are discussed. They are placed in the context of the macroscopic nature of the quantity amount of substance and the opportunity to introduce a system for molar and atomic masses with unchanged values and consistent relative uncertainties.

Variational calculations of rovibrational states: a precise high-energy potential surface for HCN [and discussion]

We report the results of variational calculations of the rovibrational energy levels of HCN for J = 0, 1 and 2, where we reproduce all the ca. 100 observed vibrational states for all observed isotopic species, with energies up to 18000 cm$^{-1}$, to about $\pm $1 cm$^{-1}$, and the corresponding rotational constants to about $\pm $0.001 cm$^{-1}$. We use a hamiltonian expressed in internal coordinates r$_{1}$, r$_{2}$ and $\theta $, using the exact expression for the kinetic energy operator T obtained by direct transformation from the cartesian representation. The potential energy V is expressed as a polynomial expansion in the Morse coordinates y$_{i}$ for the bond stretches and the interbond angle $\theta $. The basis functions are built as products of appropriately scaled Morse functions in the bond-stretches and Legendre or associated Legendre polynomials of cos $\theta $ in the angle bend, and we evaluate matrix elements by Gauss quadrature. The hamiltonian matripx is factorized using the full rovibrational symmetry, and the basis is contracted to an optimized form; the dimensions of the final hamiltonian matrix vary from 240 $\times $ 240 to 1000 $\times $ 1000.We believe that our calculation is converged to better than 1 cm$^{-1}$ at 18 000 cm$^{-1}$. Our potential surface is expressed in terms of 31 parameters, about half of which have been refined by least squares to optimize the fit to the experimental data. The advantages and disadvantages and the future potential of calculations of this type are discussed.